Ebony LaDelle

Love story between two Black teens Prince and Dani. Prince is a DJ in the afternoon after school where he hands out love advice to teenagers and other people who call the radio station. He falls hard for Dani, a girl at school who is just getting over not only a break up but also a falling out with one of her friendship group. So much so, that she has cut herself off from everyone.
Prince and Dani both have issues at home to deal with as they try to navigate their new relationship - Dani being super cautious as she doesn't want her heart broken. For older readers as it talks about having sex in a relationship and there is mention of a near sexual attack on Dani and drug/alcohol use at parties that they attend.
This is an okay romance story but I am not sure how relevant it is to Australian teenagers as it is filled with a lot of American slang and cultural references that may not be familiar to Oz teens. It will be interesting to see if Australian YA readers take to it.… (more)

Romance-loving teens will long for their own perfect love match a la Prince and Dani. Prince is well-known for his DJ and love advice program on Detroit radio while also attending to his mother who has MS. Dani is focused on her future as a writer and getting college applications done. Prince has crushed on Dani since middle school and puts forth creative efforts to woo her. But a traumatic incident in Dani's past may raise a barrier to his affections. I rolled my eyes that a 17-year-old boy could be so sage with love advice, and both youths seemed almost too driven, too perfect, too collected to be real. But I am feeling jaded at this moment in time. In the end, the genre welcomes a black teen romance with ambitious characters.… (more)